In recent months, Facebook has been quietly holding talks with at least half a dozen media companies about hosting their content inside Facebook rather than making users tap a link to go to an external site.

The new proposal by Facebook carries another risk for publishers: the loss of valuable consumer data. When readers click on an article, an array of tracking tools allow the host site to collect valuable information on who they are, how often they visit and what else they have done on the web.

And if Facebook pushes beyond the experimental stage and makes content hosted on the site commonplace, those who do not participate in the program could lose substantial traffic — a factor that has played into the thinking of some publishers. Their articles might load more slowly than their competitors’, and over time readers might avoid those sites.

Last night, I came across an incredibly important article from the New York Times, which described Facebook’s plan to provide direct access to other websites’ content in exchange for some sort of advertising partnership. The implications of this are so huge that at this point I have far more questions than answers.

George Orwell wasn’t psychic; he was a time traveler, and we’re permanently falling down the rabbit hole of 1984.

If you live in France, your right to visit certain websites has just been terminated by the almighty government.

Why? Because terrorism.

According to a report by Glenn Greenwald, “What’s Scarier: Terrorism, or Governments Blocking Websites in Its Name?,” the French Interior Ministry has now ordered that five websites be blocked by the government because they have officially been accused of promoting terrorism.

By Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, is a board member of the Wikimedia Foundation, of which Lila Tretikov is the executive director, first posted in the NYT.

Stop Spying on Wikipedia Users

TODAY, we’re filing a lawsuit against the National Security Agency to protect the rights of the 500 million people who use Wikipedia every month. We’re doing so because a fundamental pillar of democracy is at stake: the free exchange of knowledge and ideas.

Our lawsuit says that the N.S.A.’s mass surveillance of Internet traffic on American soil — often called “upstream” surveillance — violates the Fourth Amendment, which protects the right to privacy, as well as the First Amendment, which protects the freedoms of expression and association. We also argue that this agency activity exceeds the authority granted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that Congress amended in 2008. Continue reading »

“An open Internet is essential to the American economy, and increasingly to our very way of life,” according to President Obama and it appears his perspective on the heavy hand of government regulation inserting itself into the last bastion of freedom and dynamism in the US economy, is how best to achieve “openness.” Having pressured FCC’s Tom Wheeler, the vote just came down: U.S. FCC APPROVES NET NEUTRALITY INTERNET RULES IN 3-2 VOTE. While potentially good for a consumer’s pocketbook, the handing over of “fair-use” decision to the government, as we previously noted, could be the first step on a slippery slope to increased censorship.

We have been deceived on such a grand scale that it is sickening! Our government and media have been making sure many are in the dark about what is really going on and now it has gotten to the point where “truth is stranger than fiction.”

Behind the scenes politicians, lobbyists, the FCC, and bankers are making decisions that would floor even the non-believer and if those who are asleep in the United States would wake up we just might have a revolution on our hands. Henry Ford put it best when he stated, “It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”

Some people have a hard time believing how an entire nation could be so deceived, but when you understand whats truly happening in our country then you have awakened to this deception. Continue reading »

The control freaks that run our government always seem to want to “regulate” things that they do not like. And so it should be no surprise that there is a renewed push to regulate independent news websites. Sites like the Drudge Report, The Economic Collapse Blog , and Zero Hedge have been a thorn in the side of the establishment for years. You see, the truth is that approximately 90 percent of all news and entertainment in this country is controlled by just six giant media corporations. That is why the news seems to be so similar no matter where you turn. But in recent years the alternative media has exploded in popularity.

“Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask you why you’re getting off Facebook,” is the guilty and reluctant question I’m hearing a lot these days. Like we kinda know Facebook is bad, but don’t really want to know.

I’ve been a big Facebook supporter – one of the first users in my social group who championed what a great way it was to stay in touch, way back in 2006. I got my mum and brothers on it, and around 20 other people. I’ve even taught Facebook marketing in one of the UK’s biggest tech education projects, Digital Business Academy. I’m a techie and a marketer — so I can see the implications — and until now, they hadn’t worried me. I’ve been pretty dismissive towards people who hesitate with privacy concerns.

I never heard of Salim Varani before today, but when I came across his blogpost “Get Your Loved Ones Off Facebook,” it immediately piqued my interest given my less than positive feelings toward the company. It took on an even greater degree of importance in my mind considering that I had just finished reading what appeared to be a Facebook puff piece at Fusion.net about how the company, guided by “privacy sherpa” Yul Kwon, was suddenly making user privacy a core focus. It read like a PR release. Here are a few excerpts: Continue reading »

Tom Wheeler pens op-ed in Wired magazine to declare support for ‘strongest open internet protections ever’ in what could be titanic shift on hot-button issue

Proposing a titanic legislative shift on net neutrality after a years-long push from internet activists, the head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is preparing to push through “the strongest open internet protections ever”.

“The internet must be fast, fair and open. That is the message I’ve heard from consumers and innovators across this nation,” FCC chair Tom Wheeler wrote in an editorial for Wired magazine published on Wednesday. “The proposal I present to the commission will ensure the internet remains open, now and in the future, for all Americans.” Continue reading »

The British military is to form a new specialist force in “non-lethal” forms of psychological warfare using social media such as Twitter and Facebook to tackle the “asymmetric battlefields” of the 21st century.

The brigade will number 2,000 and will be made up of regular troops from all three services, as well as reservists and civilians, British media report.

It will attempt to draw the best talent from the regulars and reserves and will also allow civilians with specialist skills to operate alongside their military counterparts.

Senior officers have said that the army has to adapt to the changing nature of warfare, as conflicts from Iraq to Ukraine have demonstrated, and that the information war is as important as tanks and artillery. Continue reading »

The social media giant, Facebook, is currently censoring certain postings and comments by members in countries that object to certain content, the latest being Turkey. A Turkish high court ruled that members’ posts and comments on insult the Prophet Muhammad and are offensive to followers of Islam, according to news reports on Monday.

The Turkish court ruled that the owners and administers of Facebook and its advertisers must conduct their social media website in compliance with the court’s determination or Facebook will be banned in Turkey as it already is in other Muslim nations such as Pakistan. The Turkish court announced its decision on Sunday night, said the reports. “A person with knowledge of the matter confirmed that Facebook blocked content in Turkey following a valid legal request. That content remains visible, however, outside the country,” according to the New York Times. Continue reading »

Then, President Bush responded by stating, with bravado, that they attacked us because they hate our freedoms.

This time, the attack against the publication of satirical Mohammed cartoon, was not only an act of terrorism, but an attack on the spirit of free speech.

And the government response this time? After staging a photo op of world leaders, various heads of state have proposed new waves of surveillance and repressive attempts to ban encryption and violate the freedom of speech in communication devices through new spy policies and laws.

On Sunday, as more than 3 million people flooded the streets of Paris in support of the free speech principles that Charlie Hebdo embodied, a group of 12 European ministers issued a joint statement calling for internet service providers to more swiftly report and remove online material “that aims to incite hatred and terror.”

Establishing a framework to enhance police work and intelligence sharing concerning the actions of alleged terrorists and extremists, the joint statement from 12 European ministers and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder declares the intent to: “counter violent extremism” and “fight against radicalization, notably on the Internet,” in part through the “swift reporting [and removal] of material that aims to incite hatred and terror.” Meanwhile, it aims to beef European border control, “step up the detection and screening of travel movements” and enhance law enforcement, particularly in “working to reduce the supply of illegal firearms throughout Europe.”Continue reading »

The White House has unveiled a proposal aimed at strengthening cybersecurity within the US by encouraging sharing between sectors and installing new penalties after a series of high-profile attacks targeted government and private sector networks.

The initiative, announced by US President Barack Obama during a planned visit on Tuesday to the US Department of Homeland Security in Virginia, calls for new legislation to be adopted by Congress in order to enhance the sharing of electronic threat information between the private sector and the government, while also revamping the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, or CFAA – the 1984 federal law that outlines when and what hacking charges can be brought against suspected cyber criminals. Continue reading »

“Lawrence Lessig, a respected Law Professor from Stanford University told an audience at this years Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Half Moon Bay, California, that “There’s going to be an i-9/11 event” which will act as a catalyst for a radical reworking of the law pertaining to the internet.”

US Central Command (@Centcom), the unified military command responsible for security across the Arabian Peninsula and into the central Asia region, has had their Twitter account compromised. Cyber Jihadist claiming to be linked to ISIS were actively tweeting and uploading hacked war-game scenarios and other details that include phone numbers and email addresses for U.S. military personnel.

According to the hackers, the documents were obtained from a previous hack of Pentagon defense systems, as well as mobile devices owned by individuals working for or in conjunction with the military.

As of this writing, approximately one hour after the hack was first identified on the Centcom Twitter page, the account has been suspended and all linked data, including pictures releases of war game scenario and personal details of personnel are being wiped, presumably by U.S. National Security teams.

“Lawrence Lessig, a respected Law Professor from Stanford University told an audience at this years Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Half Moon Bay, California, that “There’s going to be an i-9/11 event” which will act as a catalyst for a radical reworking of the law pertaining to the internet.”

Update: 40 minutes after the first hacked tweet appeared at 12:29pm Eastern, the Centcom account has been suspended.

Another day, another escalation in the conflict between supporters of the Islamic State and western powers, in this case the Twitter account of the US Central Command (@Centcom), which appears to have been hacked, and where compromising tweets revealing details about military members and potential conflict scenarios involving China and North Korea, are being sent out in real time.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the CyberCaliphate under the auspices of ISIS continues its CyberJihad. While the US and its satellites kill our brothers in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan we broke into your networks and personal devices and know everything about you.

You’ll see no mercy infidels. ISIS is already here, we are in your PCs, in each military base. With Allah’s permission we are in CENTCOM now.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on new rules and restrictions on net neutrality in February, officials said Friday.

According to a Washington Post report, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler is planning to circulate a draft proposal to fellow commissioners “with an eye toward approving the measure weeks later.”

At the heart of the debate is the issue of equality on the internet. Supporters of net neutrality are calling for strict rules that would prevent cable giants like Comcast and Verizon from using so-called “fast lanes” to speed up or slow down websites—and charge content providers higher rates for the privilege of faster loading times. Continue reading »

When it comes to crude attempts at humor, The Interview may (and should) have been a stunning flop, but meanwhile the real comedy continues in the real world, whose absurdity has made any IPO of The Onion impossible.

According to Reuters, North Korea’s Internet and 3G mobile networks were paralyzed on Saturday evening, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

The network had not returned to normal as of 2130 local time, Xinhua reported, citing reporters in the country that had confirmed the situation over fixed telephone systems. Continue reading »

Free press advocates say Comcast and Time Warner merger is an ‘unacceptable prospect for Internet users, the economy and the future of communications in America.’

Critics of the proposed Comcast buyout of Time Warner Cable are flooding the Federal Communications Commissions, calling on the government office to shut down this “disastrous merger.”

In addition to the thousands of individuals who voiced their opposition to the $45 billion media mega-merger, over 600,000 comments were submitted by advocacy groups Common Cause and Consumers Union ahead of the public comment period deadline Tuesday. Continue reading »